Tuesday, November 21, 2006

In Illinois more than 400 election judges are to be asked about major discrepancies in vote counting that lead to Sen. Kennedy receiving up to 100 too many votes in some precincts. The legal action is to be filed before the Chicago city board of election commissioners tomorrow as part of a Republican effort to recover the state's 27 electoral votes for Vice President Nixon. The Chicago Daily Tribune cited these examples for the story it will run in tomorrow's edition:

"In one Thornton township precinct, the voting machine registered 290 ballots for Kennedy and 71 for Nixon. The election judges reported in their statement of votes that Kennedy had received 390 votes to Nixon's 71.

"In a Stickney township precinct, the voting machine registered 268 votes for Nixon, 249 for Kennedy. The report of election judges gave Kennedy 299 votes. Nixon was credited with only 218."

The paper also reports: "Reportedly, more than a score of such examples have been uncovered in suburban precincts while similar irregularities have been discovered in more than 70 precincts in Chicago. Republicans claim that these irregularities constitute wholesale theft of votes."

Nixon lost Illinois to Kennedy by 9,365 votes.

Republicans are seeking partial recounts in Illinois and New Jersey. If both states went to Nixon, neither candidate would have a majority of electoral votes. "That wold put 14 un-pledged electors in Mississippi and Alabama in a position to decide the election. If they failed to put either candidate over, it would be up to the House of Representatives to settle things," the Tribune reports.

The G.O.P. has also asked that Texas ballots be impounded, alleging large-scale fraud.

From Cape Canaveral, Fla., the New York Times prepared this story for the front page of tomorrow's edition: "The United States' hopes of rocketing a man into space early next year were dealt a crushing blow today by the third straight failure of an unmanned space capsule launching.

"One official said that the failure might have cost this nation its last chance to beat the Soviet Union in the race to send the first man aloft. Soviet scientists are believed putting every effort into sending a man into orbit within a few months.

Also today, Norman Mailer was arrested and accused of stabbing his wife, Adele. She was in critical condition at a New York City hospital. One wound was near her heart. Mailer, 37, was also arrested a week ago for disorderly conduct after an argument over a $7.60 bill at the Birdland nightclub.